Phoenix’s full size spring mock-up has allowed me to make a start on the limb design. There will be many cogitations on these parts before I can be confident that the limb is as light as possible, yet amply strong to handle heavy draw weights (3,000 lb. at least, I’m hoping), all the while exploring the historical utility of steel tension straps and steel end hooks for the bowstring.

That piece of steel, nestled up against my fake limb, is actually the prod for a small 200 lb. crossbow. The prod is about 3/16″ thick, and seems about the right size to be a rudimentary model for the tension straps.

Gazing at it for hours on end helps bend my visualizations around what’s absolutely needed and what is not. When it comes to limbs, the more “not” you can generate, the faster you can go.